Toy steamer



J. J. WILLIAMS.

TOY STEAMER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, 1920.

. 1 370 572. Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

, UNITED STATES ;PATENT OFFICE.

- I) JOSEPH WILLIAMS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

'roir srnmnn.

-T all'whom itmay concern."

Be it known that I, JosnrH J. lVILLIAMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Steamers,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a self propelled toy boat and has for its'principal object to provide a boat of the character described supplied with a steam motor sufficiently powerful to propel the same and which shall be hereinafter more fully described, and which will be substantially free from operating parts and which may be simply controlled to travel in'a backward or forward The means for accomphshlng direction. this being simple and so constructed as to preclude any possibility of becoming out of order.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a boat of the character described which will be cheap of manufacture, attractive in appearance and capable of being played with by children without any possibility of harm to themselves.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and willappear more in detail from'the following description and claims; Reference being had to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similarparts of reference throughout the various views, Figure 1 is a central section through adevice constructed in accordance with the principles above set forth; Fig. 2 r is a plan view, the stove or heating element being removed; Figs. 3,4, 5 and 6 are sectional details of the reversing valve.

The device comprises a hull 1 preferably made of tin and so shaped as to permit of being stamped from a single piece of material thereby to provide a cheap and eflicient construction. As is customary the stern has pivotally secured thereto a rudder 2 which may be adjusted by means of a tiller 3 and by means of which the boat may be caused to travel in a circle within a convenient receptacle filled with water.

Substantially amidships of the boat is placed a stove 4 provided with a chimney 5 and supporting within its lowermost part a receptacle 6 within which isplaced a quantity of combustible material 7, and expenence has proved that materlal known to the trade as solid alcohol is preferable although by means of a wick suitably secured Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

Application filed February 21, 1920. Serial 1T0. 360,541.

, to the top of the container 6 other fuel ma be utilized suchas gasolene, benzin, alcohb ether and the like.

The stove 4 is further provided with an opening 8 at one side thereof and into which a miniature boiler 9 is allowed to project and said boiler is supported upon the ends of two pipes 10 and 11, the pipe 10 termihating immediately upon its entry to the interior of the boiler and the pipe ll-projecting substantially to the middle thereof for a purpose to be hereinafter described. It has been found by experiment that the device operates in a more efficient manner if one tube extends farther into the boiler than the other as shown. The reason for this is notunderstood, but the fact has been demonstrated by trial.- 7 The opposite ends of said pipes are secured to a disk 13 which forms one-half of a valve member indicated generally at 14; the said member 13 is provided with a central bore 15 and two diametrically opposed ports 17 and '18. The remaining portion 19 of said valve member is likewise provided with a central bore 15 and four diametrically opposed ports 17 and 18 which at the proper time communicate with .the ports 17 and 18 13 and 19 are secured to each other by means of a pivot pin 20 which passes through the bores 15 and 15 and is held in place by means of a spring 21, washer 22 j and pin 23 and by means of said' spring it will be seen that suflicient pressure is exerted between the two halves 13 and 19 at all times to keep the, respective faces'in positive contact with each other and make a substantially tight joint. '95 The valve member 14 together with the pipes 10 and 11 and the boiler'9 are conveniently supported by the pipes 17 and 18 which are conveniently secured to the valve member 19 and which communicates with their respective ports 17 and 18. V Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the pipes 17" extend rearwardly from the valve member 14 and in substantially a in the valve member 13. The two members 85 straight line through the stern of the boat and .to a shortdistance beyond and are so constructed as to straddle the rudder 2. Thesepipes shall hereinafter be referred to .as the forward propelling pipes. The rewardly and lie substantially parallel to the sides of the hull as indicated in dotted lines at 25 and these pipes shall hereinafter betermed the reverse pipes.

' It will thus be evident that if the valve member 13 is rotated by means of the handle 26 and the ports 17. come in registry with the ports 17 communication is'established with the boiler in a way to permit of a discharge therefrom through the pipes 10, 11. and 17 and if the discharge end of the pipes 17 are beneath the water line 30 such discharge will cause the boat to be propelled in a forward direction. Likewise if the member 13 is rotated so that the ports 17 and 18 register with the ports 18 communication is established through the pipes 10, 11 and 18 thereby to drive the boat in a reverse or rearward direction and due to the fact that the member 13 is provided with but one set of ports communication with one 5 set of ports in the member.19 prohibits communication with the remaining set.

In operation water is initially forced into the boiler 9 through the pipes 17 by a syringe or the like. The boiler is then heated until steam is generated therein and it is ejected through said pipes in the inanner above described, the air confined in the boiler being first driven out. The lower ends of the tubes are lfept cool by the body of water, and this produces condensation of the steam in said tubes, which results in the formation of a. vacuum causing the water to flow upwardly in the tubes until it reaches the heated zone formed by the boiler and the upper parts of the tubes, and the water so introduced flashes into steam which produces an impulse and drives the Water out of the lower ends of the tubes.

The steam then in the lower ends of the tubes condenses and the vacuum is formed again, and 'so the operation is repeated, the flashesinto steam, the condensation, and the inflow of water succeeding each other rapthe water from the lower ends of the tubes,

which drives the boat forwardly.

at least two pipes are preferably employed and experience has proven that the operation is more successful if Jne ipe extends farther into the boiler then the other although this is. not necessary. Water will then flow in through one pipe and'steam flow out through the other. It is also evident that the number of pipes may be increased together with the size of the boiler, and in this manner morepower is obtained and while I have shown and described this particular construction I do not wish to limit myself in the construction of the same further than is required by the state of the art or that which comes within the scope of the appended claims.

claim: v

1.-A boat provided with a steam boiler, a pipe communicating at one end with the boiler, a turning valve member to which the other end of the pipe is attached, a fixed valve member, cooperatingwith the turning boiler and extending through the hull of the boatand opening below the water line, one of said pipes projecting into the boiler to a greater extent than the other.

In testimony whereof I do aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS.

I Witnesses:

JOHN A. BOMMHARDT, I Ronnn'r L. BRUCK. 

